Medical devices configured for infrequent use in medical situations (for example, emergent situations) often are disposed at non-medical facilities, are powered by batteries, and may sometimes rely on patient-interface components such as electrodes that have a limited useful life. Conventional devices such as, for example, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) may employ automated self-tests to ensure that the device will work when it is needed. However, these devices typically store the results of the self-tests in a local memory and, therefore, self-test failures often go unrecognized. For example, defibrillator failure may be detected when a caregiver attempts to use it to save a life. Additionally, caregivers benefit from the sharing of clinical event information when care of a patient is being transitioned.
Medical devices that record and transmit data often transmit the recorded data in a manner that allows the direct recipient to view all of the recorded data, even if the recipient only needs or wants to have access to only a subset of the recorded data.